This invention relates to cargo containers, and more particularly to containers for cargo to be borne by aircraft, such as baggage in passenger aircraft and freight in other aircraft.
To expedite loading and unloading cargo (freight or baggage) at aircraft terminals, it has become common practice to make up a shipment of cargo destined for a common terminal in a container which can be preloaded. The loaded container can then be quickly lifted into the fuselage of the aircraft. In that manner the aircraft is detained a minimum of time. At the destination point, the aircraft can be just as quickly unloaded. In the case of passenger aircraft, for example, the aircraft may be dispatched to its next destination while the cargo container carried to a baggage claim area is unloaded.
The cargo containers are rigid structures with side openings. For security and protection against weather, the openings are covered with some type of door. Once the container has been carried from an aircraft to a secure area protected against weather, the covering is removed. A problem in providing a covering is sealing the covering around the edges. This is a serious problem since containers must often be carried from an aircraft to the secure area in heavy rainstorms accompanied by wind and/or backwash from other aircraft. Unless the opening is well sealed, rain may be driven into the container.
In the past, openings in a container have been covered by rigid doors in order to provide conventional sealing around the edges of the door. This approach has not been entirely satisfactory since the walls of the container are necessarily thin and while the container walls may be regarded as rigid, they flex while being moved. As a consequence, the edges of the doors may separate from the walls of the container sufficiently to allow water to enter. Therefore any sealing arrangement used must allow for the container to flex away from the doors and still maintain the weatherproof integrity of the container. Various sealing arrangements for rigid doors have been suggested or used, but they have been unsatisfactory in respect to minimizing the weight of the empty container, and/or minimizing the complexity of fastening the door in a closed and sealed position. Previous closure latching systems have required that fairly extensive instruction placards be affixed to the container or door to aid in operating the system.